Wednesday April 19th, 2017

The exercise:Write about: the nickname.Much better day today. Definitely getting the hang of things. Have some hope that tomorrow will be even more efficient.And it would seem that only two days in I already have a nickname...Mine:All the trucks at work have ham radios in them and people are communicating over them pretty regularly throughout the day, mostly with the foreman. It's a pretty informal thing, with most everybody on a first name basis.Except there's another Marc on the crew.So this afternoon when the foreman radioed "Marc, you there?" I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or not. After a little pause I replied "Which Marc are you looking for?" (it ended up being me).Later on I had to radio in to tell the foreman that one of the public washroom sinks was leaking quite badly. Once I'd heard that he had one of the water guys on the way I went back to the washroom to finish the rest of my cleaning while I waited for Harry to arrive.When Harry showed up a few minutes later he asked if I'd heard the nickname thing on the radio."No, I wasn't by the truck.""Oh, okay. I told Mike (the foreman) we should probably explain it to you.""... okay?""A while back we had another Marc working with us and it was getting confusing over the radio. So Mike asked him if he had a nickname - the guy said, yeah... T Bone! Like George Costanza on Seinfeld. So of course everybody just called him Costanza instead.""Of course.""He hated it. He was like no, no - I said T Bone! Anyway... Mike said we should call you T Bone, but I wanted to explain it to you first."I'm pretty sure that if they are still calling me T Bone over the radio in October it will still make me laugh every single time.

2 comments:

Well done on getting a nickname already! (Although I think the prompt ought to have been "T-Bone" rather than "the nickname"... but maybe that's just me.) It sounds like a decent nickname and it's the right way to get one too. And it sounds like you're getting along well with the crew too if they're nicknaming you already :)

The nicknameIt is autumn and the lilies from PaysdumortHave shed their petals leaving only yellow pollenOn the counter where the tarot cards lie.Madame Sosotris sniffs, her eternal cold stillPlagueing her, and arthritic fingers riffle the deck.

A card is dealt, then another.Somewhere outside these spheres a concussiveWave breaks against a crystalline wallAnd the future jars together,Come one, come all.

"A man will come," she says in glutinuous tonesThat make her listeners wonder if she's still eatingHer morning porridge. "He bears a nicknameThat relates to steel and the firework sparks of working it."Someone titters and is silenced by angry stares.

A card is dealt, then another.The hanged man dangles by a footAnd Belladonna, Our Lady of ShipwrecksOversees the fruiting of the treesPlanted on the rotting decks.

The "Rules"

One: If you do the daily practice please feel free to share it in the comments - the best part of this concept is seeing the different places people go from the same starting point. I do my best to leave some feedback on all comments.

Two: Anyone can write. Everyone should. So write!

Three: This is daily writing practice. Practice. Not daily writing perfection. So let loose and write!

Four: Write for five minutes, an hour, all afternoon, whatever works. Just write!

Five: There are no deadlines. In fact, I love being surprised by a take on a prompt that's a few days old!

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About Me

I'm a 39 year old writer, farmer, and father to two boys living in Osoyoos, BC, Canada.
What do I write? Poetry, short stories, children's books, and I now have first drafts finished for two novels.
Why do I write? Because not writing isn't an option. I get antsy if I get close to the end of a day without having written something.
Daily Writing Practice is my main blog - come have a visit, won't you?